Buckhead reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2007-current, January 02, 2020, Image 11

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Buckhead reporter., January 02, 2020, Image 11

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Newspaper Page TextBH Commentary | 11 1 JANUARY 2020 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net A Georgia resident needs to earn approx imately $18 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment (on average state wide). This gap between wages and ability to find housing continues to grow. Efforts to take millions from our public school systems persist, while our teachers remain underpaid and class sizes increase. And instead of providing healthcare to al most 500,000 of our uninsured residents, the state is pursuing a waiver so that it won’t have to comply with the protections of the Affordable Care Act, because of pure ly political campaign promises. These are real problems that affect so many in our community, but there are ways to battle them. Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour (and allowing lo cal governments to do more if voters want them, too), fully funding public education, and expanding Medicaid are all a start. State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick R-Marietta I think we are go ing to be spending a lot of time on the bud get this year. Based on disappointing tax rev enue, the governor has asked agencies to cut 4% for this fiscal year and another 6% for next year. Since education and Med icaid are exempt, that leaves a significant challenge for the other programs. There will also be a significant conver sation about gambling in its various forms. I have significant concerns about the im pact of destination resorts on local com munities, especially arts and culture, in ad dition to the baggage that can come with these gambling destinations as we fight an epidemic of gangs, trafficking and addic tion. We made a lot of progress on healthcare and insurance last year and we will con tinue to work on improving healthcare de livery throughout the state and our gener al state of health in Georgia. We have seen some indications of more competition in the individual market that should drive down prices in combination with the waiv er programs being submitted to the feder al government. Sam Massell President, Buckhead Coalition It has been 50 years since I left of fice as mayor of At lanta, yet I have to re port that the main issues facing my community are pret ty much the same as they were then -- and they are nationwide in major urban cities. Thus, there will be no surprise to the reader when I list crime, taxes, and traffic. This is not to say there is nothing being done to improve the conditions where we find fault, or how the eventual outcome will be. 1) People complain about crime when there are incidents in the neighborhood or where they know the parties involved -- re peated incidents that can be avoided with new initiatives; 2) taxes when new assess ments are delivered - offset where political boldness of kept promises is exercised, and 3) daily increased traffic - visibly improved by action taken on yesterday’s plans. J.P. Matzigkeit Atlanta City Council Restoring trust in city government is the biggest issue fac ing Atlanta in 2020. Trust is the founda tion upon which ev erything rests. Citi zens deserve to know that their government is honest, open and worthy of their confi dence. We want to trust all public servants, but it’s essential we verify that. It’s why I’m fo cused on implementing an office of Inspec tor General for the city of Atlanta. In 2019, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and City Council put together a Task Force for Promotion of Public Trust made up of leading state and local jurists and chaired by retired Georgia Supreme Court Justice Leah Ward Sears. Chief among its recom mendations was the establishment of an Inspector General position “independent ly overseeing the city’s investigative oper ations” and working “to prevent wrong doing before it occurs.” The Inspector General’s Office would have the jurisdic tion and power to identify and investigate fraud, waste, corruption, abuse and mis conduct. Lee Morris Fulton County Commission A major county is sue facing my con stituents in 2020 will, again, be property tax es. While my Sandy Springs constituents will continue to ben efit from the “floating homestead” exemp tion for all three elements of their property tax (Fulton County, Sandy Springs and Ful ton County Schools), so that any increase in value will result only in modest increas es in tax, my constituents in Atlanta will not. I believe 2020 will see more conversa tion about this issue and, hopefully, some action. Commercial properties must be valued fairly for tax purposes. 2020 will see the General Assembly attempt to level the play ing field, and the county will continue its efforts to give the Board of Assessors the re sources it needs in this effort. 2019 saw growing media and public at tention focused on the tools local govern ments use to foster development, such as tax allocation districts and property tax abatements resulting from “bonds for ti tle.” That attention will continue in 2020, hopefully resulting in only the truly de serving developments receiving subsidies, lessening the burden on homeowners. Mayor Rusty Paul Sandy Springs Our biggest issue as we head into 2020 remains managing transportation as the Georgia DOT projects along Ga. 400 and 1-285 will be a disrup tive presence through 2032. While the end result may alleviate some of our traffic woes, getting to that end will mean some disruption that will intensify congestion over the interim. The challenge is manag ing through the process. Also, we still have the unanswered ques tions on how to fund the rapid transit com ponents that are supposed to accompany the managed (toll) lanes being added. The recent decision by GDOT to extend the con struction phase means a two-year delay in bringing a funding plan to the voters. Jeff Rader DeKalb County Commission The stimulative extension of the eco nomic expansion has led to higher costs for public safety, infra structure construc tion, and other ex penses. At the same time, warning lights are flashing for state revenue collections and other indicators. In 2020, DeKalb must balance these pressures on meeting service delivery expectations against necessary preparation for a downturn. Housing costs have likewise been es calating, requiring a policy response that preserves and improves the condition of DeKalb’s affordable housing stock. Finally, we must maintain our partner ship with immigrant communities in the face of an increasingly hostile federal cli mate, or public safety will be placed at risk. State Rep. Deborah Silcox R-Sandy Springs One of the biggest issues facing Atlan ta and Sandy Springs is traffic congestion. As chairman of the Metropolitan Atlan ta Rapid Transit Over sight Committee, I am hopeful that in spite of the governor calling for budget cuts, the General Assembly can pass a budget in 2020 that more fully funds and empowers the Atlanta -Region Transit Link Authority (also known as the “ATL”). The goals of the ATL are to oversee and promote the transit plan for the our 13-county area, to promote collaboration between current (including MARTA) and future transit partners, and to partner with regional stakeholders to plan for more mo bility. We need more transit and coordina tion of existing transit than ever before. Additionally, I am calling for a man agement audit of MARTA to be complet ed in 2020. With payments of more than $629,000 in taxpayer dollars going to out side lobbying firms and excessive pay ments of overtime to employees totaling more than $12.5 million dollars as shown in the 2019 Annual Report to the MARTOC Committee, MARTA can and must do bet ter. State Rep. Mike Wilensky D-Dunwoody Two of the most important issues for State House District 79 in 2020 will be healthcare and ethics reform. Medicaid expan sion: There are two options - the governor’s plan or full Med icaid expansion. The better option is full Medicaid expansion, which covers 490,000 Georgians, would be cheaper, and provide federal government funding of a 9-to-l match. It would be fiscally irresponsible to miss out on Georgia receiving billions of federal dollars. Opioid Crisis: Addiction to opioids is having a critical impact on our state. For years, we have heard legislators say this is a problem. It is about time we start doing something about it. That is why I pre-filed HB 744. This bill helps fight against over prescribing of Schedule II narcotics (i.e., opioids). DeKalb Ethics Legislation: I believe the people of DeKalb County, including House District 79, deserve an ethics bill with teeth to make sure DeKalb County officials are looking out for the interests of their citi zens. This year I will work towards passing such a bill. State Rep. Matthew Wilson D-Brookhaven In DeKalb Coun ty, we’ll have to im mediately address the unconstitutional ap pointment process to the county Board of Ethics. I have already announced a bill I will file with a clean fix to immediately get the board up and running for the first time in over a year. In Fulton County, I’ll continue to work with Atlanta and Sandy Springs to find so lutions to the ongoing affordable housing shortage and property value crisis. I found it incredibly disheartening last year to see our state divided so spitefully by those in power under the Gold Dome. I fear we’ll spend this session once again locked in a culture war, perhaps over yet anoth er proposal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. I am also wary of the tenor of our na tional politics, the blame for which I lay squarely at the feet of this intolerable presi dent. It would be an understatement to say the 2020 election is the largest political mo ment in recent history.